Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Music for your Midweek: Cosmo Sheldrake - "The Moss"

One of the bestbestbestest things about being unemployed is having time to find new music again. All ya'll know I'm a big fan of Hype Machine. I'm sad to say it, I've been a bit bored with their "popular" offerings. I've realized I should probably go back to podcasts. I follow all the typical NPR ones, SLUG has a good one with local music and info. Do you guys have any music podcast recommendations?

ANYWAY. I was about to give up hope on Hype Machine, when I found him:

Pretty incredible how he uses all these found sounds. Each one is alive, and has a history. It's beautiful. And a welcome surprise hearing his music after hours of songs that all sounded the same. Here's the song: "The Moss"

This track seemed like an mix between Joanna Newsom and Alt-J, no?

It has both whimsical lyrical imagery and a quirky digital beats. And I always appreciate a good Alice in Wonderland reference:

If you're not already converted to the Cosmo Sheldrake fan club by listening to his music, read the bio from his website:

Cosmo Sheldrake is a multi instrumentalist musician, composer and producer. He regularly performs on banjo, loop station, keyboards, double bass, drums, penny whistle, sousaphone, accordion and many more. He is an inspirational singer and improviser, and much of his work is concerned with play, nonsense and the sonorous environment. He composes music for film and theatre and tours internationally, performing solo and with several bands including Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wit and Gentle Mystics. He ran a community choir until 2013, teaches privately and in schools, and has facilitated music workshops and youth empowerment and nature awareness camps in both Europe and North America. He performed at a TEDx event in 2013 and recently returned from New York, where he studied vocal improvisation with Bobby Mcferrin. Based in London, he is currently composing the music for a series of Beckett plays at the Young Vic, and writing music for children’s hospitals and hospices. He will be releasing his debut single on Transgressive Records in April 2014. He is an inspirational teacher and facilitator of music workshops, community choirs and private lessons. He teaches blues, vocal improvisation, beatboxing, and general musical aural fluency. His approach focuses on learning to play by ear.

“Cosmo Sheldrake is a formidable and well-trained facilitator of experiential art and nature workshops. His expertise is three-pronged: Creativity, energy and compassion. His workshop design and delivery is consistently innovative, pushing conventional edges and setting a very high bar for musical faciltiation in particular. He is boundlessly energetic, and that energy is transferred to his participants who generally leave his sessions grinning and refreshed. Finally, and possibly most importantly, he is a very empathic listener, a gentle and patient teacher of skills and ideas, and is unafraid of engaging deep emotion. I would highly recommend any workshop he is facilitating. See you there.” – Nadia Chaney, regional coordinater of PYE Global

He has a generous soul, that Cosmo. Plus, he plays with my other favorite, Johnny Flynn. So you know he is good people.